Pakistan's Punjab imposes polio-related travel ban

Aamir Latif Wednesday, May 7, 2014

The restriction comes a day after World Health Organization imposed polio-related travel restrictions on Pakistan, Syria and Cameroon

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - A day after the World Health Organization imposed polio-related travel restrictions on Pakistan along with Syria and Cameroon, the country’s most populous Punjab province clamped similar restrictions Tuesday on travelers entering province from other parts of the country in order to contain the possible outbreak of the crippling disease, officials said.

Punjab’s health minister, Salman Rafiq, told reporters that the provincial government would not allow travelers from northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and southern Sindh provinces if they did not present polio vaccination certificates.

"We are going to set up anti-polio vaccination centers at all the provincial airports, and at 41 entry points from the two provinces to Punjab to vaccinate those who do not present the vaccination certificates," Rafiq said. "Those who refuse to get administered anti-polio vaccination will not be allowed to enter the province."

Pakistan is one of the three countries where polio remains endemic together with Nigeria and Afghanistan. Currently, the polio virus affects ten countries in the world.